Trials and Tribulations of the Olympic Torch in Italy

Heavy snowfall in northern Italy marred the travels of the Olympic torch. After having much difficulty traveling between Cortina and Merano, Saturday's leg of the relay from the mountains of Bormio to Livigno was cancelled. Earlier in the week, the torch experienced difficulties in Trento when a group of eight anarchists tried to grab the torch. There have been several incidences of demonstrators along the route and more are expected to be encountered in Piemonte's Val di Susa region where residents are protesting against the planned high speed train line.

Today the torch will continue its travels from Bergamo to Milan, followed by a brief journey into Switzerland on Monday. Next Sunday the torch should reach its final destination of Turin for the opening ceremonies of the 2006 Winter Olympics.

Although the heavy snows closed both Milan airports and caused many roads to be closed, Olympic organizers are happy to have the snow in the mountains of the Piemonte region where the outdoor events will take place. See our Piemonte map for venue locations. The Torino 2006 Blog has a great picture of Torino in the snow, too.

About.com has started a Winter Olympics Page with links to articles from other About sites and Olympics information. James Martin of Europe for Visitors will provide daily blogs about the interesting people and activities surrounding the Olympics. He will be traveling to Turin next Sunday where he will be reporting first-hand experiences.